
With Songs From The Heart, the band Daniel Amos celebrates 20 years of their brilliant, sardonic diatribes against those who would dillute the ministry of the Church through greed, apathy or just plain stupidity. Songs From The Heart is downright strange, whether it's the college rock (but pretty straight) reading of the Four Seasons classic "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" or the punk-squardance (complete with undanceable time signature changes) of "Donna Nietzche And Her Super-Race Of Kickboxing Uber-Parrots." But then, tracks like "Organ Bar" are as remarkable for their hard-edged, Raymond Chandleresque delivery as they are for the vulnerability songwriter Terry Taylor has become brave enough to share; he no longer points an accusing finger without including himself in the lineup. The two closing songs, "When Everyone Wore Hats" and "My Hand To God" are as delicate and beautiful as anything Daniel Amos has ever accomplished, the former a remembrance of simpler, gentler times, the latter a sort of death bed love letter to a sweetheart. With Songs From The Heart, the members of Daniel Amos prove themselves once again to be more vibrant and intelligent than success would ever allow.